auto vs manual
what are your thoughts
power?
reliability?
offroad?
street?
pulling?

The auto is supposedly the better trans. I can attest to the noisiness of the 4-cyl stick. I drove Kim's 4-cyl auto and really appreciated the stick afterward.

I tow quite often with the 4-cyl Raider I have, and have a later model Gen I 3-point hitch welded up for no worries. I will be swapping on the V6 front brake setup eventually for added stopping power. My point being that the 4-cyl has adequate power for Class I/II towing.

Of all the various cars I have and have had, my Raider is far and away my favorite. Despite replacing the clutch and trans at 102K miles, spitting a brake shoe lining, worn UCA bushing, dead fuel gauge sender, inoperable headlight washer and AC, and the blown original 1987 heater hose in November...I have found the reliability to be good overall.

I purchased the second Montero and then the Raider for offroading. My job description entails no road travel on project sites, often hauling my little trailer. The rear LSD is invaluable.

Street issues are handled by placing bouncy seat bases in both seating positions. I always wish for a little more acceleration power, that's about it.

Pulling, some stuff addressed above. I have used my Raider to haul another Raider through hilly country to Kim's, pulled a Gen II Montero that had a blown engine several thousand feet to get the lady off the busy road. Anything extra and a winch like Carlos' would be needed. It was so impressive to watch his Gen II pull that semi-truck on Snow Day '08!!

I prefer the Manual. I like the Control that down shifting and over reving gives me.

The Auto seems to be the way to go for Rockcrawling. Yes for sure.

I have always felt that the Manual was more reliable but i guess it depends on maintenance and the Abuse the Driver throws in.

I do not know about Pulling but may find out very soon!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

my 91 monty has a manual in it now but i have an auto from another raider i just got
i like that with the auto you can run different transfer cases
thats pretty much the only thing i like about the auto

I have an auto with 235k miles and it's still going strong.
From what I've read the auto is bomb-proof but the stick however is pretty iffy.

As for preference, I love manuals(faster, better mpg and your actually driving) and would never buy a car or truck without one but when off roading I like the auto better.

What he said. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

The V6 manual is stronger then the 4 cyl unit by a good margin.

The 4 cyl manual is good for most applicaions but if you add tall tires and a turbo and then throw in towing it wont last very long.

When fresh the manual tranny is just as quite as the auto. With age the bearings can / will get noisy. New gears produce metal and the bearings get hurt when they run through it. Once a used unit is rebuilt the bearings tend to last longer since the gears have already been run in.

The later lockup autos get better highway fuel economy the early 4 cyl autos. The early 4 cyl auto converter slips a lot with larger tires at highway speeds.

The upside is its a very tough unit.

I went with an auto on my current Raider. At times I miss having a stick but my daily driver is a manual soooooo I went with the auto for the Raider. It was great to have and an auto when I broke my foot last fall <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rodent.gif" alt="" /> Driving a stick with a cast on is not recomended.

Other than fuel economy around town is not quite as good I'm pretty happy with the setup. It has been putting up with 12 PSI of boost for a couple of years.

I did change two things on my 4 cyl auto. The first was I got a set of lower transfer case gears from AU to give it a better crawl and the other was I swapped in the V6 lockup tranny from a mid 1990. The bell housing / front case is removable on the auto. The 4 cyl flex plate bolts up to the V6 converter making it a very easy swap.

Kevin

For pulling auto is better expecially when starting on inclines.

I prefer MTs , esp this one. The V6 MT is made in the MMC Truck plant. They use it in school buses and cabovers overseas, therefore it's much tougher and heavier than it needs to be. Hard to get parts for.
The auto being made by AISIN probably easier to get parts for. It's tough, knew a feller that did the Rubicon with his AT LWB 90.

right on kevin...
i personally "used?" to prefer a manual off road... even rock crawling. just like the control, but i gotta admit that ive put mine through pure hell and i love my at... absolutly bullet proof. if you go with an at, if it breaks it will cost you more to fix... but on the other hand with a mt youve got all the regular maintinance that will add up over time.
i think that when it comes to at vs mt, both sides are going to be pretty set in their ways... its all a matter of opinion/preferance.